One pervading thought about the upcoming 2010 free agent NBA class is that some teams (read Knicks, Nets) hope to attract two max-out players. The thinking is one might attract the other.

Well, if the Knicks and Nets are thinking of perhaps using Dwyane Wade as a lure for the like of LeBron James, they might want to re-think the position. That’s because Wade isn’t even thinking of them.

"Not in my mind," Wade said yesterday when asked if the Knicks and Nets had a shot at his services. "I’m not thinking about the Knicks or the Nets. Only when we play them."

The representative for free agent point guard Jamaal Tinsley said he is scheduled to resume negotiations with Miami Heat president Pat Riley next week regarding a deal that could soon land his client in Miami.

On the other hand, Riley doesn’t seem to be so certain.

Raymond Brothers said Thursday he spoke by phone with Riley earlier this week, when Riley was in Hawaii, and the two agreed to resume talks after the weekend.

Riley was in Hawaii as late as Wednesday, but was back at his offseason home in Southern California on Thursday. But Riley said through a team spokesman Thursday evening that no formal talks were planned and a Tinsley signing was not imminent.

“I talked to Pat when he was out there. There’s still interest on both sides,” Brothers said. “We’ll see what happens. But we’ll talk again.”

Once the free agent market opens next summer, there may not be a team in the league that is better prepared to make a major splash than the Nets. And one of the players who will likely be on everyone’s list knows it.

Dwyane Wade, who could be one of the major free agents next summer, said the Nets should be considered serious contenders when it comes to which teams are most likely to land the biggest catches.

"I think guys know that they will be in the mix because they’re setting themselves up to be there. And also, it’s not a bad (area to play) at all. So there’s going to be some chatter about the Nets when they come around," Wade said Thursday. "I know right now the main chatter is about the other side – New York – but I’m sure the Nets are going to get some love as well."

Wade was at the Meadowlands making a cameo appearance in a basketball movie – "Just Wright" – that stars Queen Latifah and rapper/actor Common. Though Wade is on the Heat in the movie, he could be playing somewhere else by the time it’s released (as late as next fall).

The Nets will likely be as much as $23 million below the salary cap following this season. They’ve traded away the massive salaries of Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter in the last 19 months and have a number of expiring contracts on their current roster, so coming up with the cash to reel in a major free agent or two should not be a problem.

However, the Nets no longer have mega-stars like Kidd and Carter to help with recruiting and could also be hurt if they have not broken ground on their proposed Brooklyn arena by then.

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